Chapter 84: Choices

After listening to the old storyteller, Liu Zong left the bar with a face full of doubt. He was troubled about how to handle this matter. If he handed the task over to someone else, he would feel reluctant, but if he took it on himself, he had no confidence in his chances. After all, this mission was a dangerous, continuous quest that required five people to complete together, and Liu Zong simply didn’t have the connections to gather enough friends for a joint effort.

Not doing it wasn’t really an option either. What if they failed to find the Resonance Amber, and the great demon in Second High School was released? Third High School in Yang City was already at a disadvantage in both numbers and strength; with this extra factor, if they lost the school competition, wouldn’t he become the scapegoat?

After some thought, Liu Zong made his way to the hotel lobby, where he sought out a Yadala insectoid and requested an audience with the hotel’s NPC.

Soon, the hotel bartender appeared before Liu Zong. Unlike the Yadala insectoids mingling in the lobby and around the hotel, this bartender looked even more imposing. He had two pairs of arms—the forelimbs were much like a human’s, but the rear set ended in mantis-like scythes.

Upon seeing Liu Zong, the bartender tilted his head and said, “I assume you’re not here for me to mix you a couple of drinks.”

Without hesitation, Liu Zong produced the amber and asked, “I want to know—how should I handle this mission?”

The bartender’s insectoid face grew serious when he saw the amber in Liu Zong’s hand. After a moment’s thought, he replied, “You should speak with your leader, then see your commander and ask for his opinion.”

Liu Zong considered this and asked, “So you all know about this?”

“Yes, we all know of its existence, but never imagined it would resurface,” the bartender said gravely. “This is not necessarily good news for you. Its presence may only serve to distract you.”

“Why is that?” Liu Zong asked, puzzled.

“Because activating this resonance is not easy, and it can’t be done for just one person. If you really intend to do it, it will slow down your resource accumulation. So you’d better make sure you want to reactivate this thing.”

With the bartender’s explanation, Liu Zong understood. It was, in essence, a simple question: the existence of Resonance Amber could enhance each player’s combat strength and even boost the legion’s power, but activating it required every player to pour a huge amount of resources into it.

Those resources were currently needed for building the fortress, and later for upgrading other NPCs. They couldn’t afford to waste them. Even if some players had extra resources on hand, would they really be willing to use them to activate the amber?

After thinking it over, Liu Zong realized he couldn’t make this decision alone. In the end, he returned to the palace.

By now, the commander in the palace had reached a certain level, able to issue all sorts of orders and missions independently. The student command team no longer needed to be present in its entirety; only one person remained on duty, while the rest were off handling other tasks.

When Liu Zong arrived, the student on duty was surprised—after all, there weren’t many resources left for players to purchase battlefield items, and it wasn’t the time for monthly missions. Few people would come looking for the commander right now.

He couldn’t help but ask Liu Zong what brought him here.

Liu Zong immediately explained his situation. When the player on duty heard everything, his expression changed.

He clearly couldn’t make the decision either, and he understood it was a difficult dilemma.

After some thought, the player said to Liu Zong, “Wait here a moment. I’ll go ask around.”

He called another to take over his shift and left the map himself.

About two hours later, he returned from outside the map. As soon as he saw Liu Zong, he said, “I’ve already spoken to the principal about this, and also consulted with a few temporary commanders. They all agree—you need to carry out this mission.

Even if we can’t currently use the Yadala Resonance Amber, that doesn’t mean we won’t be able to in the future. Even if the players can’t use it, the legion might still be able to use it to strengthen their forces.

And we can’t guarantee that the other side won’t use the power of the great demon, so you must see this mission through to the end.

The principal hopes you can complete all of this during the free mission period, with you in charge. You can post a task order at the hotel to assemble a team, and we’ll notify some capable people to fight alongside you.”

After hearing this, Liu Zong thought for a moment and asked, “If I recruit Lv1 players, will they follow my lead because of my mission?”

The player smiled wryly, “What do you think?”

“Alright,” Liu Zong replied, giving up on that idea. “I’ll try to gather a group of Lv0 players to complete the task. But I’ve already died once in battle, so after this rotation, I may need to rest for three months. Everything will have to wait till then.”

“No problem. In fact, in this school competition, most people have died once or twice already. I’ll check with some elite players to see if they can make arrangements, but that will depend on luck.” The player understood Liu Zong’s timing. “Oh, and you’d better finish any other mandatory tasks during this period—don’t get stuck when the time comes.”

Liu Zong nodded firmly. “I know. I came out this time only because the Grand Tomb Lord is leveling up. Otherwise, I’d still be in the netherworld.”

“Then go to the hotel and post the mission. Also, get some rest. I suspect that once this quest begins, you won’t get much chance to rest again.”

Faced with this situation, Liu Zong could only accept it in silence. He returned to the hotel and posted the mission with the bartender.

Liu Zong clearly listed the mission’s difficulty, duration, and dangers, and required players to cooperate with him fully. The job notice specified that only Lv0 players were being recruited, though Lv1s could apply if they agreed to follow his command during the mission.

After posting the job, Liu Zong returned to the underworld. Although the Grand Tomb Lord’s upgrade wasn’t finished yet, there were still plenty of places to go in the Nether Office.

During this time, Liu Zong had accumulated many questions that he needed to discuss with his teacher. Otherwise, if he only fought without learning, he would eventually hit a bottleneck in his future career.